February 21, 2003

If you wanted to know more about the culinary uses of soybean, you could hardly do better than hear from someone who has been in the business for more than 60 years and who was involved in the first production of soybean milk yoghurt.

That would mean attending the Australian Soybean Conference in Toowoomba on March 5 and 6, where a keynote address will be made by Mr Shigeo Kudoh, president of Japan¹s Taishi Food Incorporated, which produced its first fermented soybeans in 1940.

Mr Kudoh¹s personal achievements include the development soya milk and yoghurt in cooperation with Chinese interests in 1982, and the automation of the tofu production line 10 years later.

He negotiated contracts for the supply of soybeans from Canada and China and was involved in the development of "functional" tofu.

Mr Kudoh¹s address will be one of a number focused on edible soybeans but conference organiser and president of the Northern Australian Soybean Industry Association, Peter Brodie, says the agenda will cover the whole range of soybean industry issues.

"Pest control has always been a major issue for soybean growers and this conference will hear from two expert speakers about the latest developments in the use of biopesticides for insect control.

"So serious is the potential threat of silverleaf whitefly to the Australian soybean industry that we we will have speakers from NSW Agriculture, Queensland¹s Department of Primary Industries and the CSIRO discussing management strategies particularly oriented to soybeans.

"And reflecting growers¹ increasing interest in alternative approaches to improving fertility, we¹ll have a speaker discussing the paddock benefits of quality compost."

Mr Brodie said other conference sessions would concentrate on the nutritional characteristics of edible soybeans and the prospects of expanding Australian exports of such beans.

A keynote speaker on this subject would be Malcolm Morrison, an oilseed physiologist from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, on Canadian experiences in exporting to Asia.

The second morning of the conference would focus on future prospects for the soybean industry and the breeding of new varieties better adapted to Australian conditions.

The Australian Soybean Conference, supported by graingrowers and the Federal Government through the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC), will be held at the Toowoomba City golf Club on March 5 and 6.

The second afternoon will be devoted to a field tour of a soybean processing plant, field research activities at Gatton Research Station and a commercial farm specialising in the production of soybeans for the soymilk industry.